Improve your family history writing by listening to podcasts
Squeezing it in between lockdowns, I made a long overdue visit to NSW State Archives on the outskirts of Sydney. It’s about a 45-minute drive from my home. It’s perfect timing for listening to a podcast.
Why does this genealogist and family history writer love history podcasts so much? Context. Names and dates tell only part of the story. There will be gaps between what you know for sure and what you can only suppose. By learning about the history surrounding your ancestors you can better imagine, and write about, their life.
Writing
History Podcasts to delight a genealogist
Podcasts for quick trips
On the way to the archives I listened to Open Book by the National Records of Scotland. It was an episode about a court case in 1804 to suppress the publication of the love letters between the bard, Rabbie Burns, and his lover, Agnes Maclehose. This podcast episode was just made to delight me: Rabbie Burns, family history, court records, and Scottish law. This was the first Open Book I listened to and it won’t be the last. I’m particularly looking forward to listening to Crime and Punishment: How Archives Can Inspire Fiction, with Dr Elaine Thomson. Tipped as an episode for budding writers and those who have an interest in the National Records of Scotland, crime, or Victoriana, I can simply say yes please, all of the above.
On the way home from the archives, I listened to an old favourite, Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell. I do love a story with a legal case at its heart (eight years of law school will do that) and Season 2 Episode 3, Miss Buchanan’s Period of Adjustment, concerns one of the most significant cases in US history, Brown v Board of Education.
Now in its sixth season, Gladwell’s podcast is a “journey through the overlooked and misunderstood.” I’m very interested to see how The Little Mermaid fits into the latest episodes.
Some of my other favourite podcasts for short drives are the beautifully produced podcasts coming out of the State Library of NSW. The Burial Files takes you back to 19th century Sydney to explore the Devonshire Street Cemetery which was located where Central Station now stands.
This has to be a go-to podcast for taphophiles. I didn’t find any of my ancestors in these Burial Files, but maybe you will.
The Gatherings Order looks at the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic. Using the resources of the State Library, historians, public health experts, and scientists examine the history which is so reflective of our present.
Soldiers and nurses returning home from the war on the Western Front brought the illness back to Australia. Quarantine, lockdowns, vaccinations, second wave illness. How were these now familiar measures and situations handled over 100 years ago? Did we learn from it?
Podcasts for a road trip
But what to listen to if you have a LOT of time on your hands? A weekend adventure in north-west NSW allowed me to indulge in some longer, serial-style podcasts. It’s about a seven hour drive to Inverell via the Hunter Valley and Gunnedah. When I wasn’t stopping to take photos of painted silos and sunsets over the Breeza Plains I was listening to podcasts I’d saved for a road trip.
On the long drive north, I listened to Aaron Menke’s Unobscured. I’d previously listened to the first season about the Salem Witch Trials. (Salem is not at all connected with my own family history, but I’ve always been interested in the Trials. Spoiler alert. Not witches.)
These podcasts are “season-long audio documentaries about history’s most mysterious topics“ This time, flying up the New England Highway, I was learning all about the hunt for Jack the Ripper, how the police force was established, and late-Victorian London.
On the return journey I stayed with the Age of Victoria, listening to the podcast of the same name, researched and presented by Chris Fernandez-Packham. I’ve especially enjoyed the episodes on empire building, crime and punishment in the Australian colonies, because there’s a fair sprinkling of convicts in my own family tree.
I’ve a lot more episodes of the Age of Victoria podcast to enjoy. I’m now in the midst of the Napoleonic episodes which will give context to my research about my Holmes family, living through these times in London.
These are some of my favourite history podcasts and I am always looking for more. Do you enjoy history podcasts to add context to your family history writing? What podcasts do you recommend? Tell me your favourites in the comments below.
Podcasts QUick Reference List
Age of Victoria podcast by Chris Fernandez-Packham
Unobscured with Aaron Mahnke (Grim & Mild production)
The Gatherings Order by State Library of NSW
The Burial Files by State Library of NSW
Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell (Pushkin)
Open Book podcast by National Records of Scotland